History
U. S. Steel Kosice
Steel production in Slovakia is one of the oldest manufacturing branches. Its development especially in the east was contingent on extensive local occurrence of iron ore. Iron was produced here as early as 600 years B. C. but the main development started in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the course of the following centuries the technology of iron and steel production progressively improved until finally on April 1, 1959 the Deed of Foundation was signed for a modern metallurgy plant - the East Slovakian Iron Works.
In January 1960 construction started on more than 800 hectares of land, which changed the character not only of Kosice and its surroundings but of Slovakia as a whole as well. In 1965 the first blast furnace was fired up and production in the hot rolling mill and coke plant was started. The following year saw the beginning of steel production in oxygen converters, and gradually other operations started which would close the metallurgical cycle. In four decades the Kosice mill has developed into a steel-producing plant that has managed to reach the markets and achieve a position among the significant steel producers. It has been accepted as a member of prestigious international organizations associating iron and steel producers and has become a partner of renowned foreign firms in joint ventures.
The new phase in the history of the Kosice Steelworks started on 24 November 2000 when the metallurgy production and commercial activities were sold to the leading American steel company The United States Steel Corporation.
United States Steel Corporation
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| Judge Gary |
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The parent company The United States Steel Corporation was founded on 25 February 1901 and started operations on April 1 of that year as a holding company. It was based on the vision and experience of businessman and industrialist Andrew Carnegie, financier John P. Morgan and lawyer Elbert H. Gary.
The new company was so big that in 1901 it represented 7% of the gross domestic product of the United States. It produced and sold 67% of domestic and 29% of world steel.
The corporation not only changed the way the steel industry operated in the USA, but also brought new principles into business competition and new rules of business ethics. It was the first company that organized general meetings, issued annual reports, offered shares and benefit programs to employees. As the first steel company it started the 8-hour workday, acknowledged trade unions and introduced official safety programs in all its operations.
Even today The United States Steel Corporation with its headquarters in Pittsburgh is the biggest steel producer in the United States of America, and together with its European plants is one of the leading steel producers in the world.
A responsible approach to business has been an inseparable part of our company since U. S. Steel was established at the beginning of the 20th century. Our first Chairman, Elbert Gary, set the basis for ethical and transparent business by defining and implementing the "Gary Principles." Their correctness has been confirmed over the years and demonstrated by U. S. Steel’s success in the global steel industry.
The Gary Principles
- I believe that when a thing is right, it will ultimately and permanently succeed.
- The highest rewards come from honest and proper practice. Bad results come in the long run from selfish, unfair and dishonest conduct.
- I believe in competition ... that the race should be won by the swiftest, and that success should come to him who is most earnest and active and persevering.
- I believe that no industry can permanently succeed that does not treat its employees equitably and humanely.
- I believe thoroughly in publicity. The surest and wisest of all regulation is public opinion.
- If we are to succeed as businessmen we must do it on principles that are honest, fair, lawful, and just.
- We must put and keep ourselves on a platform so fair, so high, so reasonable, that we will attract the attention and invite and secure the approval of all who know what we are doing.
- We do not advocate combinations or agreements in restraint of trade, nor action of any kind which is opposed to the laws or to the public welfare.
- We must never forget that our rights and interests are and should be subservient to the public welfare, that the rights and interests of the individual must always give way to those of the public.
